I'm a Turk, I'll Live
by Atavistic Angst
Summary: An intruder at Shinra Inc. brings his grudge for the Turks against one of them...Reno. After their first encounter, Reno is forced to pull his life back together by his only friend, Rude. But…[continued inside]
1. I

**I'm a Turk, I'll Live**

Chapter 1

_An intruder at Shinra Inc. brings his grudge for the Turks against one of them—Reno. After their first encounter, Reno is forced to pull his life back together by his only friend, Rude. But…that enemy is still out there. Though Reno survived this time, that doesn't mean he or the others will in the future…_

--

Atavistic Angst

--

The power flickered out, eliciting another curse from the Turk leader. "What's _taking_ him so long?" He muttered under his breath, leaning foreword a slight bit to peek around the wall his back was pressed against.

He stood, gun cocked, in one of the many intersecting hallways lining the building. The only way out was to go straight ahead, past the isle to his right. The problem? Someone was waiting there, and that someone wasn't going to let them escape. Tseng had already made the mistake of trying to run past the assailant once. The result was a, though not fatal, bullet wound to his side. He was lucky the bullet had only scathed him.

'_Damn, you, Reno…'_ He thought, biting his lower lip impatiently. The number one goal right now: Get Rufus out before their uninvited guest could get his hands on him. Reno and Rude were already supposed to have accompanied their employer down to the first floor; they had yet to arrive.

He heard, in the distance ahead of him, a few gunshots being fired. A scream—it was Elena's, he realized. About to run, completely ignoring the silver haired man waiting for him just around the corner, he barely managed to stop himself even when she came into view, clutching a limp arm.

She was panting, but aside from the injury on her arm she seemed unharmed. Blood was spattered on her white shirt, (she had torn the blazer so she could wrap Tseng's wound earlier and left the remains of it on the spot) and it was quite apparent to the raven-haired man that it was not her own.

He sighed with relief, his hand reaching down to the cell phone at his waste. Elena got the hint, and before her phone could even ring, she had answered it.

"Tseng, I—"

"_Shh_," he whispered. "He knows I'm here, but not you. That may be an asset to us, so keep your voice down."

"Oh, right…I wanted to say that the ventilation shafts were easy enough to get through—you were right. The only problem was that when I got out, there were two guys at the door…One of them got me before I could draw my gun, but they're both down, now. This way is clear."

"Good job…for a rookie. Have you seen Reno or Rude? The president?"

She shook her head in the distance, only to raise her gaze a moment later and point behind Tseng. "Wait…behind you."

"Thanks," he said quickly, snapping his phone closed and turning on his heels to face the three. The movement was slow; it appeared that there was a problem with Rufus Shinra's Wheelchair. From what Tseng could see, Rude had a gun that looked too small for him clutched in his right hand, Reno walking behind their handicapped boss.

When in hearing range, Tseng, anger obvious in his voice, hissed, "What _took_ you so long?"

"Hey, calm down. We ran into some difficulties, okay? The elevators weren't working so we had to carry him," Reno said, jerking his head towards Rufus.

Rude said nothing, though it was obvious that Reno had nothing to do with carrying the man and his wheelchair down the stairs.

"Why didn't you inform me?" Tseng asked, his anger still evident.

Reno rolled his eyes. "What, you want me to tell you the next time I have to take a piss, too? I didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal."

"Reno, I am _not_ in the mood. Keep your smart-ass thoughts to yourself and concentrate. This is serious. We don't have time for you to screw around."

"Alright, alright. So what are we doing, now?"

The redhead sighed, his eyes focused in a far corner as he waited rather impatiently for Tseng to make up his mind. It didn't take long.

"We need a decoy. You're going to cause a distraction for us."

"What?" Reno said, his blue-green eyes immediately shooting to scan Tseng's face. "But that's not fair! I just got back from that mission to Wutai—look, my nose is still broken and—"

"Are you refusing a command from your superior?" Tseng said, interrupting the smaller redhead before he could give further protest.

"No, but…"

"Then shut up and think of how you can make your extremely annoying self useful; distract our _guest_ until we can get Mr. Shinra out!" He scoffed, "And I don't see how a broken nose is going to hinder you."

Reno scowled, raking his fingers gently over his nose. "It hurts, that's all," He complained, poking slightly at the band-aid plastered atop the bridge of his nose. No one was really sure why it was there—whether it was actually helping his nose or if it was just Reno being Reno. He stepped away from the group, sighing as he slipped his gaze past the corner in the hallway.

The redhead spotted, dimly, the silver-haired figure bent on keeping them in the building. The figure's back was turned and he looked to be busy with something. With what though, Reno couldn't tell.

Reno turned back around to face the group, Tseng, more in particular. "No problem. What's he using?"

"Nothing much. It's only a small handgun. Unless he has refills, he should be about out of bullets," the leader commented.

"Gotcha. Later," Reno said, before drawing his electro-mag rod from its holder in his belt and disappearing around the corner. The sound of bullets firing was heard, but no one in the group looked. They were already halfway to their destination.

"Reno!" Elena called as soon the rest of the group was safe across the hall. "Can you get out?"

"N-not right now!" Came the strangled reply. " Just get the president outta here and leave this to me!"

"Meet us in the mountains!" She called. She knew Reno would understand; would know to meet them at the Healin Lodge.

If only she'd known what she was doing when she ran out the building after the rest of the group, maybe then she could have prevented the loss of one of her own…maybe she could have prevented losing _him_.

* * *

_Yeah, fun. I hate you, Kyu-Chan. If anyone blames me for this, it's all coming back to you—this is what you get for getting me hooked on FFVII! Which I do not own, mind you, though I would enjoy being infinitely rich…Bah, but I digress. If you read and enjoyed, please do leave a review. If not, I dunno what you should do. I'll update soon enough, maybe…_


	2. II

_Heh, I'm **QUITE** sure I've made you all suffer long enough, so please do forgive me. I'll admit, I was a **tad** busy with the end of the school year coming around, but that doesn't give me an excuse, I know. I've just been busy with several other things—and kinda lost my motivation for typing. No biggie, I found it again, what with reading all those lovely reviews you supplied. Thanks a lot, and for you, my readers, but I have one final message. For failing to inform you in the previous chapter, I feel it my duty to remind you (if you did not receive a message from me) that there will be a brief case in which Reno is, to put it bluntly, raped. No description at all of that event, actually, so now—if you haven't been discouraged to read this, I bring you a second chapter:_

* * *

**I'm a Turk, I'll Live**

Chapter 2

_An intruder at Shinra Inc. brings his grudge for the Turks against one of them—Reno. After their first encounter, Reno is forced to pull his life back together by his only friend, Rude. But…that enemy is still out there. Though Reno survived this time, that doesn't mean he or the others will in the future…_

--

Atavistic Angst

--

Rude bit his lower lip, as he sat almost stoically in his seat, tapping his finger incessantly on the wooden table before him. This action had been going on for well over half an hour, his anxiety growing with each _tap_.

It had been forty-five minutes since the trio of Turks had arrived with Rufus Shinra at the Healin Lodge, and there hadn't been a sight or sound from Reno.

Rude tapped his finger again, again, and again…and stood up abruptly. The silence drifting through the lodge was broken, and Tseng and Elena even looked over at him, hushing their already quiet conversation. Rufus looked up from his novel, and watched wordlessly as the sunglass-wearing Turk retreated to the back room, closing the door firmly behind him.

In one swift motion, he pulled out his PHS and hit a button. Reno's number was dialed instantly.

It rang once, twice…three times. If Reno hadn't picked up the phone by the third ring…chances were he wasn't going to answer. But he wouldn't give up hope. Four rings…five.

And then someone answered the phone.

"Reno?" Rude asked, almost eagerly.

"I don't think so," Came a silky voice, "Sorry."

"Who is this, then?" Rude's anxiety built evermore.

"I have a name…but I'm not telling you…not now, anyway. I have a feeling you're going to want to remember it, so why waste the surprise now?"

"Where's Reno?"

"Reno? The redhead," the voice stated flatly. "Oh, he's here. In fact," excitement flared in the other's words, "I was wondering when someone was going to call or show up for him. I was beginning to worry no one cared!"

Again, the Turk replied without showing much emotion. "Put him on."

A chortle from the other line, followed by, "Oh, no! We just can't have _that_! He's…preoccupied at the moment." There was a sort of cry of pain, strangled, in the background. "Shall I take a message?"

"Is this some kind of _game_?"

"No, no! Not in the slightest. Oh, but I am having my fun!" Reno could be heard, faintly cursing in the distance.

"…I won't let you get away with this." Malice stained Rude's words.

There was scoff on the other line. "I thought you _Turks _weren't capable of compassion!"

Reno yelled out a mangled stream of swears; there was a gunshot. Reno gave a pained cry, but not one of a dying man…apparently he was just being toyed with.

Rude couldn't stop himself. "What are you doing?"

"To him?" Came the quick answer, "I'm only giving him what he deserves." There was a sort of derived chuckle given, and then Reno was heard. "What're you—Hey! Get off me! Rude—!"

And the phone clicked shut.

Rude cursed, mixed emotions running through him as he, too, closed the phone. Without much else, he stormed out of the back room and towards the front room.

Elena spoke, first, "Rude? Did you get a hold of him?"

Rude gave a quick nod, still taking long strides, "Yes."

Tseng, watching with his ever-calculating gaze frowned. "Where are you going?"

"To get him."

Elena blinked. "Is something wrong…?"

The hairless Turk didn't give an answer; he was already out the door.

--

Rude pushed down on the breaks, parking the spare company car he had borrowed from the Healin Lodge. Opening the door swiftly, he practically leapt out and dashed towards the halfway-dilapidated Shinra building.

It took only a moment for the Turk to trace his way through the building and back to where their assailant had first appeared—he figured if he was going to look for him he mine as well start there.

Apparently, that had been a good idea.

Silently, Rude made his way to the corridor Reno had disappeared into when the rest of the Turks departed from the building. He swiftly crossed into view.

He was met with a sight that made him blanche, a sight that made—_him—_a damned _Turk _want to shield his eyes. Forcedly, though, he forced himself to look away from Reno's bloody, pantless form and concentrate on the grinning silver-haired male that stood before him, zipping up his pants.

"Ah, you're right on time," he said cheerfully. "I've just finished, you see."

Rude flared in anger. "You _sick_ bastard!"

"Perhaps, perhaps," the cheerful demeanor disappeared, "But know only this. Turks…Shinra…you and your lot will always be worse. Take that," he jerked his thumb towards Reno, "as your warning. I'll be back."

The warning was menacing enough, but it didn't phase Rude. The bald man swiftly made a leap to go after his still unnamed enemy, but the latter was too quick in summoning a seeming portal. He disappeared in a scant matter of seconds.

In the momentary distraction, Rude hadn't caught Reno fishing his pants back into their proper position, or seen the redhead force himself into a standing position. It was only when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw his partner stagger and collapse.

Rude turned abruptly, making his way towards his fallen comrade. "Reno—?" He knelt next to the redhead, gently raising him up when there wasn't a response. Rude frowned when he took into observation the condition of the smaller male—his face was pale and drawn, blood staining his features. His clothes were torn in various places, blood seeping through open wounds still. A little more worried, now, he tried again. "Reno?"

This time Reno managed to open his eyes slightly and even offer a wan grin. "Rude…ya did come. I thought maybe—"

The larger of the two shook his head. "Quiet, Reno, don't talk. I just wanted to see if you were awake. I'm going to get you to a hospital, we'll—"

Reno interrupted rather vigorously, "Rude, no! Don't—it's bad enough that _you_ know, but if Tseng or Rufus or Elena…if anyone else finds out…" he swallowed, grimacing, "I'd just be a laughing stock. Please, Rude…I'll do anything—just don't take me to the hospital? And…and if you…won't…not take me, just _leave_. I don't care how, I'll walk home…"

Rude again shook his head, and as determined as he was to get Reno some medical attention…he knew Reno was twice as determined not to. He let out a sigh, lifting his small partner into his arms as he stood up. His eyes latched onto the pool of blood in which Reno had once been laying in, quickly turning his eyes away as he stalked towards the door.

"So where are we going…?" Reno asked warily, looking up at Rude. "And…don't carry me. I'll walk. I'm not some pansy…" the redhead said firmly, though it was quite obvious to Rude that he was forcing himself to stay conscious.

"Just shut up, Reno. I won't take you to a hospital, but try to rest until I can get you home, at least. We'll get you cleaned up and in bed."

Reno lowered his gaze, subconsciously allowing his limp for to lean against Rude's form as they walked out of the Shinra Building. "I still don't want you to carry me…"

Rude merely frowned. "It's this or the hospital.

"…You're a cruel person," the redhead protested half-heartedly.

Rude was silent for a long moment before looking down at the individual in his arms. "Hey, kid…partner…you gonna be okay…?"

Reno lazily opened an eye. "What, you mean after having the shit kicked outta me, then having some guy's cock shoved up my ass a couple of times?" Rude felt Reno shrug as he paused, "Like he said, I had it coming. Besides, I'm a Turk, I'll live."

Rude said nothing more as he loaded Reno and himself into the car.

* * *

_There will be another chapter posted possibly in a week, at most, but sooner probably. Now that school's out, I have a lot more time on my hands to do as I please. So, alas, if you enjoyed this, please to leave a review—remember, no matter how small or short it is, I really do love getting them. Thank you to all my readers, as well as to you, Kyu-chan, for beta-ing this for me. _


	3. III

**I'm a Turk, I'll Live**

Chapter 3

_An intruder at Shinra Inc. brings his grudge for the Turks against one of them—Reno. After their first encounter, Reno is forced to pull his life back together by his only friend, Rude. But…that enemy is still out there. Though Reno survived this time, that doesn't mean he or the others will in the future…_

--

Atavistic Angst

--

Rude released a small sigh, turning his gaze from the water-stained window towards his bed. Reno lay unmoving, tucked under several thick layers of blankets. He had been that way ever since he had taken a chilled shower almost half an hour ago.

Rude's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene yet again. He shook his head; Reno's vibrant red hair, pallid face…the black of Rude's bed-set…everything just seemed to be so contrasting, so _wrong_…

Thunder cracked in the distance, breaking Rude out of his trance. Reno stirred as well, his face warping into a clearly distressed expression. He mumbled something, twitching and writhing in his sleep for a moment—until Rude placed a large hand on his partner's shoulder.

"Reno," Rude said in a stern voice; the smaller male opened his eyes instantly.

He winced a little, looking up at Rude. "Huh…?" he said sleepily, already attempting to sit up. Unfortunately for him, Rude's hand (still on his shoulder) forced him back down. "Rest," came the gentler reply, "I only woke you because you looked like you were having a nightmare."

Instantly Reno had a grin on his face, but Rude had known the redhead long enough to see it had been forced. "Me?" Reno asked a second later, "A nightmare? Nah…"

It was obvious that Reno was lying, but Rude decided not to press the matter. Instead, he simply nodded. "Just get back to sleep. You look—"

"—Like shit," Reno interrupted, " I feel like it, too…"

He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes as he snuggled back under Rude's comforters. "But…thanks, anyway." He mumbled.

"For what?" Rude asked, being unable to repress the question.

"Everything, I guess…Picking me up, letting me stay here, for not getting mad at me, helping me patch myself up, for…hell, for even keeping my clothes here all those times we had late nights an' I didn't wanna go home…"

Reno yawned, and Rude just sighed. "Go to sleep, Reno, I get it."

"Yeah, well…just…thanks, anyway…"

"You're welcome," was the bald man's reply as he rose from his chair. Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Reno cracked an eye. "Where ya goin'…?"

Rude tossed a quick look at the clock on his bed stand. "It's six. I thought I'd make dinner now."

Reno feigned interest. "Oh, you cook?"

"Don't you?" Rude asked. Reno opened his mouth to say something in response, but Rude cut him off, "Never mind. Just get some rest now and I'll wake you up to eat, later."

"…You sure?"

"You don't listen very well," Rude said, his patience failing for a split second until he looked over his shoulder to his partner's pouting face.

"Never was my strong point. Hey…where'd you put my goggles?" Reno asked, sitting up.

"Rude heaved another sigh, "Reno," he warned.

"I can't see!" Reno protested, pushing his thick bangs out of his eyes with a heavily bandaged hand.

"You're sleeping, why would you need to see?"

"I…" Reno paused, a look of defeat crossing his features, "I guess you're right. Sorry…"

Rude didn't respond; there was silence. Reno buried himself, head and all under Rude's comforters and the taller Turk stepped out of the bedroom, turning off the light and closing the door behind him as he left.

He headed for the kitchen, though had no intention of cooking at the moment. Instead he pulled out his PHS and dialed a number swiftly.

The cellular device had barely even rung once before it was picked up.

"Rude?"

"Elena."

"Why didn't you call earlier?" Elena said, practically screaming.

"I've been busy."

"Did you find him?" the blonde asked hurriedly.

"Yeah. About two, maybe three hours ago."

"How is his condition?" Came a deeper voice—Tseng obviously. Rude realized he had been on speakerphone and cleared his throat. "It's…bad. Tseng, take me off speaker."

Rude hadn't had to explain why, Tseng immediately switched from speakerphone and responded with a quick, "Done."

Elena complained in the background, and Rude could make out a few muffled words from Rufus before Tseng hissed for them both to quiet down. On the other line there was the sound of a door closing, followed by silence.

"Rude?"

"Apologies, Sir."

"No problem. So…"

"Reno…took a beating, I'll say that."

"I'd assumed, by the way you're acting, but…he's taken a lot in the past few years…surely it wasn't—"

"Don't even say 'that bad'," Rude said, "It was worse than just bad."

Tseng was quiet for a brief moment before he managed, "How so…?"

"Had his physical wounds been all he'd received I'd say he'd be up in about a week—a week and a half at most, but…there was more than just a few flesh wounds…"

Tseng's words came slower than before, "What do you mean…?"

"We're dealing with a pretty sick guy here, Tseng. Reno didn't _just_ geta beating. His assault was takena few steps further."

There was a long silence between the two Turks as Tseng tried to make sense of what Rude had just said.

_More than flesh wounds...not just a beating...a few steps further..._

Suddenly everything clicked in Tseng's mind, and as calmly as he could he inquired, "Is he in a hospital? Has he had medical examination? There wasn't internal damage, was there?"

"Reno wouldn't let me take him to the hospital."

"But Rude—what if he—"

"Then it's his fault…not ours. I promised I wasn't going to force him into anything. If you want to come down here and get him proper medical treatment, do it yourself; I want no part in it."

Tseng again was silent on the other line. "Where is he staying? At his apartment?"

"No. With me. There are a few issues about his living quarters that prevented him from staying there tonight."

"I see…I…we'll drop by after we make sure the president is one-hundred percent safe."

"We?"

"I was going to bring Elena…"

"…No. Have her stay with the president. I've already broken my promise and told _you_ about this little incident. The last thing we need is for all of Shinra to know about this incident…about what that kid's just had to go through…it's best to keep this as confidential as possible."

"Rude…you know everything's got to go on record…"

"Just keep this quiet for a while—it's all he asked."

"…I suppose," Tseng finally said with a sigh, "he deserves that much at least. I still plan to drop by later, though. There are things we'll need to discuss that are best said in person…"

"I understand," Rude said simply.

"Goodbye, then," Tseng said before the line went dead. Rude clicked his own cellular device closed, placing it in his front pocket.

--

"Where is he?" Tseng questioned, as he stepped inside Rude's abode.

The Turk had arrived, to Rude's astonishment, a mere half-hour after the initial phone conversation.

"My room," Rude said as he stood up from his couch.

"He's awake?"

The hairless male shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said before turning and heading towards his room, gesturing for his superior to follow.

--

Tseng stepped out of the room, a grimace evident on his features. He closed the door quietly behind him and raised his gaze to meet Rude's. "Rude… I don't think I need to tell you, but…I _really_ think he should get a professional to check him out…"

Rude took a long breath. " I know…all I did earlier was give him a few of my strongest potions, but…I know that's probably not enough. As concerned as I am for him, though…I'm still leaving this up to him…"

Tseng nodded. " I understand. At least…_try_ to persuade him. Don't hesitate to remind him that we have our own private clinical staff at Shin-ra. As soon as we send out the message to head to Building B now that A needs repair we can have someone look at him…"

"I'll mention it. But if word gets around…?"

"It won't," Tseng assured, "I personally hired all of our clinical staff. They're sworn to confidentiality; I trust them all."

Rude nodded, turning away from his bedroom and heading towards his living room. "Again, I'll mention it," he said as he took a seat, gesturing for his superior to do the same.

"Please do." The raven-haired male sighed, as he followed Rude into his living room and took a seat across from him. "So…may I inquire what the issues were that prevented him from staying at his apartment?"

"Of course," Rude said, "It's because he doesn't actually _have_ an apartment anymore."

Tseng frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Apparently it burned down about two weeks ago."

"Really? Why didn't he tell anyone?"

Rude shrugged. "I'm not sure. I just found out about it when I picked him up."

"Well…where has he been staying?" Tseng questioned, leaning forward in his seat.

"I asked earlier, but he wouldn't say."

"I guess that's not the most pressing matter, anyway," Tseng said, "His assailant, first of all, do we know who it is…?"

Rude shook his head. "He was familiar, I know, but I can't place it. I didn't get a good look at him, anyway. I was…honestly more concerned about Reno at the moment." A look of disappointment crossed Tseng's features, and Rude quickly added, "Though he did have silver hair."

"A rarity," the other Turk murmured. "We'll keep a look out. Anything else of importance?"

"He's got a grudge against Shin-ra. You'll have to be even more careful when it comes to the president, now."

"Naturally." There was a long moment of silence before Tseng said anything. His face lowered, he murmured half under his breath, "I can only give him three days, Rude…"

Rude barely heard Tseng even speak, much less was he able to make out the words. "What?"

Tseng raised his voice slightly, "I can only give Reno three days off duty…and you only one. After tomorrow, we'll need you back."

Rude wanted to protest—there was absolutely no way Reno would be up and functioning properly in only three days.

"I…see," was all that he managed to say. "Reno won't—"

"Won't be in top condition, I know. We just need him there—Rufus and Elena will get suspicious if he's not back, though. I've _never_ given him more than three days unless he was hospitalized."

"I suppose…" Rude admitted, "But you'll take it easy on him…?"

"Naturally, " Tseng repeated, "He just has to be there; he won't be required to do anything—I'll see to that."

Rude sighed and looked out the window. Rain still continued to pelt the glass, thunder still rattled across the remains of Midgar and Edge. "…Understood."

* * *

_Err…yes, I understand that this update was very far belated, and for that I do apologize. We took vacation, then I procrastinated, then I realized I had no idea how I wanted to go about writing this chapter, and, well, one thing didn't lead to another so I only just now got a chance to type this. I still don't like it as much as I feel I should (it seems…. poor in quality, to me) so…yeah. Sorry if you don't like. My beta said it was **fine as it was**, but you know how beta-readers can be. Speaking of which, I'm actually considering getting another one, so if anyone is interested, send me a PM or an email (my address is still liaroftheages at hotmail dot com). And also, I realized that I had not entirely considered the options I had with this story, so now I'm wondering—who should this mysterious silver haired man be? So many options…I want my readers opinions! Should it be someone we know? Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo…Sephiroth? Or should I, being my creative self, create an **original** character. I don't really want to make it an original character, but, eh…it's all good if that's what my dear readers want to see. So, again my lovelies, if you have any suggestions, I want you to know that I **CRAVE** them. Please send a message my way if you have any comments or suggestions **WHAT SO EVER**! Anyway, I feel like I'm digressing, so I'll end my little author's notes here. Thank you for reading and I do hope you will forgive me for my late update. I'll update again before 12th of August, so look foreword to the next chapter!_


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